Murder in the Wild West

Last weekend, we participated in a Murder Mystery for our good friend, Jared's, birthday. This is the third Murder Mystery we have done with Jared and Michelle, and we always have a great time! These parties have special significance to us because we attended the first of the three on our very first date. All four of the couples who attended that party are now married. We love spending time with them and love participating in these fun games. Now, on to the party... Wild West style:
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The year is 1881 in the town of Roadkill.

Waylon Payne, the Judge of Roadkill has invited 8 people to witness the hanging of the Malevolent Seven, a gang of criminals who have victimized the town of Roadkill for several years. Unfortunately, before the hanging was to take place, Waylon Payne was found dead in his room. One of the guests that was invited to the hanging is the murderer. WHO DUNNIT?

Our hosts and good friends, Jared and Michelle 

P'Elvis (Jared): A mysterious gunslinger who rode into town just 2 days ago. He's a man with no belongings but the shirt on his back, his gun and his saddle.

Butch Chastity (Michelle): The first lady of outlaws. In her secret hide-out, a place called the Hole in the Mud, Butch plans the most daring of heists, including her many famed train robberies. It has been rumored that Butch has gotten away with more gold than any outlaw alive.

Jeff and Alice 

Elias Truist-Heath (Jeff): Young Elias is an up-and-coming heart-throb gunfighter. He can dazzle spectators with his quick draw and a spin from his guns, and when he's not showing off his slinging skills, he's demonstrating his pugilistic prowess. 

Elvira-Lynn (Alice): She's the proud madam of the Pigeon Ranch, the best little you-know-what in Roadkill. To look at her now, you'd never guess she was born in the gutter and suffered a sickly childhood, battling everything from consumption to bubonic plague. 

Chris and Tammi 

Chief Breaking Wind (Chris): The distinguished leader of the Cowpai tribe-an honorary position these days, since the entire Cowpai tribe fell victim to a mysterious disease several years ago and perished. Still, the stoic chief keeps his traditions alive, trusting that, with his help, the Cowpai will rise again. 

D'Adela Muerte (Tammi): Adela is a Mexican beauty with the most pious of spirits but is plagued by bad luck. She's been thrice-widowed-each time as a newlywed. Still, she knows that she will rise above her misfortune. Until then, she'll continue to wear her black mourning veil.

Sarah and Jonathon 

Helena Handcart (Sarah): Matriarch of the Handcart clan, Helena is the mother of the Handcart boys: all thirteen of them. Billy-Bob, Bobby-Rae, Little Ricky, Martin and Lewis, Harpo, Groucho, Sleepy, Sneezy, Manny, Moe and Jack. Oh-and, of course, the Beav. Unfortunately, she had to bury all thirteen of her sons after they were tragically killed in a shoot-out at a dairy farm. A strong woman, she has been able to survive, although most of the time she remains secluded on the sprawling Handcart Ranch, managing the family cattle business. Helena owns half the territory and never lets anyone forget it.

Wyatt Hertz (Jonathon): Wyatt Hertz is by far the most famous lawman in the West. He kept the wild frontier town of Roadkill under tight control, keeping the locals in line with an iron fist of fear. Now Wyatt runs a lucrative rent-a-horse business. He never lost a gunfight, and some folks believe he could take out a whole gunslingin' gang with a single round from his six-shooter.

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After 3 hours of delicious food, playful banter, and vicious accusations, the murderer (Elvira) was finally discovered. Working together, we all figured it out. That is pretty unusual because the last two murderers have been complete guesses that only a few people got right. 

The food was phenomenal. We were in charge of appetizers, so we tried to stick with the Old West theme and brought trail mix and chips and salsa. Jared made some AMAZING deep-dish pizzas and Michelle whipped up a plate of hot chocolate chip cookies smothered in vanilla ice cream. YUM! 

The costumes were also so fun and creative. Everyone really went all out. I loved the black hat and veil that Tammi wore. Her Mom made it for a 50th birthday party, and it worked perfectly. Poor Alice was stuck with a scandalous part (for the 2nd straight year), but she really did a great job with the costume and getting into character. I lacked any pioneer clothing, so I sewed myself a bonnet the night before using this tutorial. For the apron,  I used an old pillow case, sewed some lace to the bottom, and put a tie on it. It worked surprisingly well. The rest of our costumes came from D.I. 

Here are a few more pictures just for fun...

 In our front yard

(Thanks Tera and BJ for babysitting and taking our picture!)

The Whole Group